attractor

American  

[uh-trak-ter] / əˈtræk tər /

noun

1. a person or thing that attracts.

2. Physics. a state or behavior toward which a dynamic system tends to evolve, represented as a point or orbit in the system's phase space.

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attractor Scientific  

/ ə-trăk′tər /

1. A set of states of a dynamic physical system toward which that system tends to evolve, regardless of the starting conditions of the system.

2. ◆ A point attractor is an attractor consisting of a single state. For example, a marble rolling in a smooth, rounded bowl will always come to rest at the lowest point, in the bottom center of the bowl; the final state of position and motionlessness is a point attractor.

3. ◆ A periodic attractor is an attractor consisting of a finite or infinite set of states, where the evolution of the system results in moving cyclically through each state. The ideal orbit of a planet around a star is a periodic attractor, as are periodic oscillations. A periodic attractor is also called a limit-cycle.

4. ◆ A strange attractor is an attractor for which the evolution through the set of possible physical states is nonperiodic (chaotic), resulting in an evolution through a set of states defining a fractal set. Most real physical systems (including the actual orbits of planets) involve strange attractors.

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Etymology

Origin of attractor

First recorded in 1645–55

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attractor

The Weijer group was able to implement the suggested myosin distribution in a living embryo, and it developed a circular attractor rather than a linear one.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024

"Wrath of Khan" revolved around a vendetta, a more reliable attractor for moviegoers than a story about a speculative concept.

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2023

Again, they found a torus, a shape that persisted regardless of the rat's environment or state of being, a finding that supports the theory of continuous attractor networks.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 26, 2022

I need to have great content as an attractor to customers into Game Pass and xCloud and our consoles as well.

From The Verge ● Nov. 24, 2020

Seaton reduced the force acting upon the animal until just enough was left to keep the attractor upon it, and it again dived into the swamp.

From The Skylark of Space by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith

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